{"id":"court_ctb_644_3","court":"CTB","case_no":"22-50073","doc_number":644,"sub_number":3,"doc_type":"DECLARATION","filed_date":null,"title":"UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION | K 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2","summary_zh":null,"summary_en":null,"body_en":"## UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION\n\n| K 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 | |\n|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|\n| In re: | Chapter 11
: |\n| HO WAN KWOK, | 0
: Case No. 22-50073 |\n| Debtor. | |\n| | |\n\n## FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION OF DISINTERESTEDNESS OF LUC A. DESPINS\n\nI, Luc A. Despins, declare the following is true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief:\n\nI . I submit this declaration (the \"First Supplemental Declaration\") to supplement the declaration submitted to the Court on July 7, 2022 [Docket No. 515-1] (the \"Initial Declaration\") as part of the U.S. Trustee's request to appoint me as chapter 11 trustee (the \"Trustee\") in the chapter 11 case of Ho Wan Kwok (the \"Debtor\") pending before this Court (the \"Chapter 11 Case\") and in further support of my application (to be filed contemporaneously herewith) to approve the employment of Paul Hastings as counsel to the Trustee. I hereby supplement the Intial Declaration as follows:\n\n2. connection with the review procedures described in paragraph 4 of the Initial Declaration, certain Paul Hastings attorneys resident in Paul Hastings' Hong Kong office formerly represented certain entities (collectively, the \"PAG Entities\") which share a common ultimate parent (PAG\n\nCapitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Initial Declaration.\n\n\n\nHoldings Limited) with Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund LP (\"PAX\")2 in Unrelated Matters (as defined in the Initial Declaration to mean matters unrelated to the Debtor, his family members, or entities controlled by the Debtor or his family members), the most recent of which concluded in May of 2022 (the \"PAG Unrelated Matters\").3\n\n3. Paul Hastings is a large multinational law firm with thousands of current and former clients. To put matters in perspective, Paul Hastings' fees collected in the PAG Unrelated Matters accounted for approximately 0.004% of Paul Hastings' fees collected for the firm's fiscal year ending January 31, 2022, approximately 0.02% of Paul Hastings' fees collected during the firm's three prior fiscal years ending January 31, 2022, and approximately 0.03% of Paul Hastings' fees collected during the firm's five prior fiscal years ending January 31, 2022.\n\n4. any entity related to PAX. I have never represented PAX or any entity related to PAX, and, in my capacity as Trustee, I am able to be adverse to PAX and so is Paul Hastings as PAX is not and was not a client of the firm and, in any event, even assuming, without conceding the point, that the PAG Entities and PAX would be treated as as one for conflict purposes, the PAG Entities are former clients in connection with Unrelated Matters. See Conn. R. Prof. Cond. 1.9 (Lawyer may be adverse to former client as long as new representation is not related to prior matter handled for former client.)\n\n5.\n\nPut another way, PAX's indirect parent company, PAG Holdings Limited, is also the indirect parent company of the PAG Entities. To be clear, however, the PAG Entities are neither parent companies nor subsidiaries with respect to PAX.\n\n3 The names of the PAG Entities are PAG Real Estate Asia; PAG Assets (Real Estate) Limited; PAG Real Estate Investment Ltd .; BT Cayman Ltd .; Super Alliance Real Estate L.P .; and Sunstone KB (HKSAR) Ltd.\n\na. One Paul Hastings attorney, James Bliss, who is not currently a member of the team of attorneys assigned to represent the Trustee, worked at the law firm of Schatz & Schatz, Ribicoff & Kotkin (\"Schatz & Schatz\"), in Hartford, Connecticut, as a summer associate (in 1994) and first-year associate (in 1995-1996), at a time when, the Honorable Julie A. Manning was also employed at Schatz & Schatz.\n\n6. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, based on the review procedures described in the Initial Declaration, Paul Hastings does not have any \"comection\" to the parties in interest identified on Schedule 1 to the Initial Declaration, except as described in the Initial Declaration and this First Supplemental Declaration. Neither the term \"connection,\" as used in Bankruptcy Rule 2014, nor the proper scope of a professional's search for \"connection\" has been defined, and I am therefore uncertain what this Court may consider a \"connection\" requiring disclosure. Out of an abundance of caution, I have disclosed in the Initial Declaration, and am disclosing in this First Supplemental Declaration, representations that are not, to my understanding, disqualifying or problematic under either section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code or applicable standards of professional ethics.\n\n7. For the reasons set forth in the Initial Declaration and this First Supplemental Declaration, I believe that Paul Hastings is a \"disinterested person,\" as defined in section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code and as required by section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.\n\nတွေ I declare under penalty of perjury under 28 U.S.C. § 1746 that the foregoing is true and correct.\n\nExecuted July 12, 2022, at New York, New York,\n\nLuc A. Despins\n\n-3-","body_zh":"UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION（美国康涅狄格区破产法院布里奇波特分院）\n\nK 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2\n\n相关案由：第 11 章\nHO WAN KWOK（郭文贵），\n案号：22-50073\n债务人。\n\nLUC A. DESPINS（卢克·A·德斯平斯）关于无利害关系的第一份补充声明\n\n我，Luc A. Despins（卢克·A·德斯平斯），谨在此声明，就我所知、所悉及所信，以下内容属实：\n\n1. 我提交本声明（以下简称「第一份补充声明」），以补充于 2022 年 7 月 7 日提交给法院的声明 [Docket No. 515-1]（以下简称「初始声明」），该初始声明系作为美国破产受托人申请任命我为本院审理中的 Ho Wan Kwok（郭文贵）（以下简称「债务人」）第 11 章案件（以下简称「第 11 章案件」）的第 11 章受托人（以下简称「受托人」）程序的一部分，并进一步支持我（与本声明同时提交的）关于批准聘请 Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）担任受托人代理律师的申请。我特此对初始声明作如下补充：\n\n2. 关于初始声明第 4 段中所述的审查程序，常驻 Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）香港办事处的某些普衡律师曾代表过某些实体（统称「PAG 实体」），这些实体与 Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund LP（太平洋联盟亚洲机会基金有限合伙，简称「PAX」）2 拥有共同的最终母公司（PAG\n\n本声明中未予定义的首字母大写术语，应具有初始声明中赋予它们的含义。\n\nHoldings Limited / 太盟控股有限公司），所涉及的为非关联事项（定义见初始声明，指与债务人、其家庭成员或由债务人或其家庭成员控制的实体无关的事项），其中最近一项已于 2022 年 5 月结案（以下简称「PAG 非关联事项」）。3\n\n3. Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）是一家拥有数千名现任和前任客户的大型跨国律师事务所。客观来看，普衡在 PAG 非关联事项中收取的费用，约占普衡截至 2022 年 1 月 31 日的财政年度收取总费用的 0.004%，约占普衡截至 2022 年 1 月 31 日的前三个财政年度收取总费用的 0.02%，约占普衡截至 2022 年 1 月 31 日的前五个财政年度收取总费用的 0.03%。\n\n4. 任何与 PAX 相关的实体。我从未代表过 PAX 或任何与 PAX 相关的实体，且作为受托人，我有能力与 PAX 处于对立立场，Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）亦是如此，因为 PAX 现在不是且以往也不是该所的客户；无论如何，即便假设（但不承认该观点）PAG 实体与 PAX 在利益冲突审查中被视为一体，PAG 实体也属于涉及非关联事项的前客户。参见 Conn. R. Prof. Cond. 1.9（只要新的代理事项与之前为前客户处理的事项无关，律师即可与前客户处于对立立场）。\n\n5.\n\n换言之，PAX 的间接母公司 PAG Holdings Limited（太盟控股有限公司），亦是 PAG 实体的间接母公司。然而需要明确的是，PAG 实体就 PAX 而言既非母公司亦非子公司。\n\n3 PAG 实体的名称为：PAG Real Estate Asia；PAG Assets (Real Estate) Limited；PAG Real Estate Investment Ltd.；BT Cayman Ltd.；Super Alliance Real Estate L.P.；以及 Sunstone KB (HKSAR) Ltd.。\n\na. Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）的一名律师 James Bliss（詹姆斯·布利斯）目前并非被指派代表受托人的律师团队成员，他曾在康涅狄格州哈特福德的 Schatz & Schatz, Ribicoff & Kotkin 律师事务所（以下简称「Schatz & Schatz」）工作，分别担任暑期实习律师（1994 年）和一年级初级律师（1995-1996 年），当时 Julie A. Manning（朱莉·A·曼宁）法官阁下也受聘于 Schatz & Schatz。\n\n6. 据我所知、所悉及所信，基于初始声明中所述的审查程序，除初始声明及本第一份补充声明中所述者外，Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）与初始声明附表 1 中指明的利害关系方没有任何「关联」（connection）。无论是在《破产规则》第 2014 条中使用的「关联」一词，还是专业人士对「关联」进行检索的恰当范围，均未被明确定义，因此我不确定本法院可能将何种情况认定为需要披露的「关联」。出于充分谨慎起见，我已在初始声明中披露、并正在本第一份补充声明中披露据我理解根据《破产法典》第 327(a) 条或适用的职业道德标准均不构成丧失资格或存在问题的代理情况。\n\n7. 基于初始声明和本第一份补充声明中阐述的理由，我认为根据《破产法典》第 101(14) 条的定义以及《破产法典》第 327(a) 条的要求，Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）属于「无利害关系人」（disinterested person）。\n\n我依据 28 U.S.C. § 1746 声明，在受伪证罪处罚的原则下，上述内容真实且正确。\n\n于 2022 年 7 月 12 日签署于纽约州纽约市，\n\nLuc A. Despins（卢克·A·德斯平斯）\n\n-3-","key_entities":["Paul Hastings","Despins","Kwok","Ho Wan Kwok"],"ecf_references":[],"word_count":908,"status":"published","published_at":null,"created_at":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-23 12:39:20"}